Why Astrology’s Image Needs a Makeover

Professional astrologer Steven Forrest ponders the vexing question: What if we gave an astrological renaissance and nobody came?

Indulge me for a few seconds . . .

People fly from far away to see me. My waiting list is a year long. Many of my clients have names you would recognize. Earnest strangers walk up to me in restaurants and say, “Aren’t you . . . ?” I have been on TV. I’ve been on the radio. I am all over the Internet. I have been interviewed more times than I can remember. I fly all over the world and speak to large audiences. I have a dozen books about my work in print, translated into many languages. Esquire magazine called one of them “truly outstanding.” Sting praises my “language that is as intelligent and cogent as it is poetic.” Robert Downey, Jr. says, “I can’t recommend him highly enough.”

All that ego-adrenalin, and yet I live with a primal fear: it is the thought that somebody’s conservative grandfather will come up to me at a party and ask that simple, ubiquitous social question, “By the way, Steve, what do you do?” Often I say “counselor,” and try artfully to squirm away from the subject. Occasionally, and never among the Gifted and Talented, I have assumed a professorial air and intoned, “Psychological Astronomer.”

But inevitably there are times when artifice fails, and the truth comes out: I am a professional astrologer.

Perhaps it is the reflectiveness that comes with age. Perhaps it is a response to the “spokesperson” role I play from time to time. But lately I find myself thinking dark thoughts about science and history, cosmos and consciousness, truth and lies… all pivoting around one humbling self-observation: I am often embarrassed to say what I do. In random social situations, am nervous about saying that I am an astrologer.

It shouldn’t be that way, I know. I have a lot of respect for my clients. In any other area I would honor their collective judgments. By and large, the men and women whom I counsel are bright, educated, dynamic individuals, the people who shape the life of their communities. They are psychotherapists and physicians, architects, professors, novelists, lawyers and artists of every discipline. They are ministers, executive, stockbrokers, true leaders in the hard-headed world of business. Emphatically, they are not the “hapless victims of astrological charlatans” so often lamented in the anti-astrology press.

And they return to me year after year. They encourage their friends to make appointments with me. With their support, I prosper.

And, of course, I would not have their support if I didn’t give them something they value.

I value it too, despite my embarrassment. Astrology, when approached seriously, provides personal, concrete, “feel-able” proof that we inhabit a meaningful universe. Properly applied and understood, it restores to the cosmos some of the mystery and enchantment that modern life tends to sap, and it accomplishes that task without asking us to surrender our intellects. Carl Jung, the seminal psychoanalyst, called astrology the repository of all the psychological knowledge of ancient humanity. The modern bard, Robert Bly, described it as “the great intellectual triumph of the Mother civilization.”

But those voices are in the minority. Most educated people today have been programmed to put astrology in the same benighted category as human sacrifice and the fear of black cats.

Who is to blame? First on the list are astrologers themselves, at least some of us. The majesty, emotional valence, and intellectual rigor of the astrological symbolism has often been reduced to cutesy Sun Sign formulas. “Scorpios are sexy, Virgos are picky, Aquarians wear purple leotards.”

Who can take silly one-liners like that seriously? Not me. Not anyone with enough brains to brush his teeth without hurting himself.

“Well, Steve, what do you do for living?” When I hear that question, I know that I am trapped. I can lie. Or I can tell the truth—and know that what will be heard is a lie.

I am not alone in this predicament. A Harris Poll released in 2003 indicated that 31 percent of Americans said that they believed in astrology, while 51 percent actively disbelieved and 18 percent were not sure. Every one of those believers has at least a couple of friends who are convinced that their use of astrology is evidence that they are soft in the head.

Astrology was not always so ridiculed. Pythagoras “believed in” astrology. So did Galileo and Plato. Johannes Kepler too. And Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine. Throughout the lion’s share of human history, in virtually every society, the validity of some form of astrology was taken to be self-evident.

Of course, so was the idea that the Earth was flat and that God had a long white beard.

But astrology is different. Its claims are demonstrable. They are testable, at least subjectively. Isaac Newton’s servant once said of his master, “I never knew him to take any recreation or pastime either in riding out to take the air, walking, bowling, or any other exercise whatever, thinking all hours lost that were not spent in his studies.”

Newton was a Capricorn, a sign that emphasizes self-discipline and seriousness of purpose. While Newton’s attitude toward astrology is not known definitively, it is clear that he was immersed in the metaphysical and alchemical perspectives of his era. Had Newton read that his nature was playful and sociable, would he have believed it?

God’s beard is hard to study. Human nature is not; we see it everywhere. And Isaac Newton, arguably the most acute observer who ever lived, never felt moved to comment critically upon astrology, even though it is a virtual certainty that he had contact with it.

What happened? How did astrology lose its credibility? Why is there a dusty little shelf in the back corner of every bookstore labeled “Astrology, Occult, UFOs?” The story is long and winding and I explore it as thoroughly as I can in The Night Speaks, the book from which this short introductory piece is extracted. But here it is in a single line: The tabloid press got its hands on the symbolism. That is not history exactly, but it captures the essence of the catastrophe. Popular astrology did, to a degree, in fact fall into the hands of charlatans.

Far more deeply, astrology’s current predicament is linked to a clash of paradigms—those all-embracing sets of assumptions which shape the way a culture looks at life. In astrology, the universe is purposeful and alive, and we are in active communion with it. This notion, so attractive at first glance, is actually quite subversive. It challenges the domination of our minds and spirits by the mechanistic “dis-enchanted” view of human existence that has us all watching our streaming videos, waiting for the world to end.

Since the 1960s, in the Americas and Europe, an astrological renaissance has taken place. Many factors have spurred it: the widespread return to the “old religion”—celebrating the sacredness of earth, sky, and consciousness itself; the popularization of psychotherapy as a developmental avenue for “normal” people; the spread of computers which have made astrology’s formidable mathematics less of an obstacle; the rise of genuine astrological scholarship in terms of statistical and historical astrological research; the success of small, specialized publishing enterprises, which have in five decades produced a body of technical astrological literature unrivaled in history.

I have watched it unfold. I know a lot of the personalities involved. Many of them I would call friends. In a small way, I have been part of the process. Over and over again, I have been struck by one overwhelming and dispiriting observation: hardly anyone outside the narrow walls of the technical astrological community or its committed clients even knows that the renaissance has taken place. To the person on the street, it might as well not have happened.

Why?

The answer, I think, is tied up with my embarrassment. Astrology has a terrible public relations problem. To that person on the street, it still looks dumb. Or irrelevant. Or like something “he could safely laugh at,” as Jung once put it.

It is time to address that issue. I celebrate this website, the hard work of those who envisioned it, and the support of the astrological organizations for the outreach it represents. I love the idea of a simple web address to which an intelligent “believer” could send his or her skeptical friends. I think we can demonstrate that astrology is intellectually plausible and spiritually healthy today, much as it was in Neolithic villages, among the gleaming pyramids, the Renaissance chambers where Leonardo walked.

Here, in a nutshell, is the website I pray that conservative grandfather might have visited before he buttonholes me at the party and says, “Steve, tell me… what do you do for a living?”

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29 Comments for Why Astrology’s Image Needs a Makeover

Nicholas

Great Article. I can say for at least the last 2 years , I have been upfront with others about “what I do”.
MIght sound funny but making a nice business card helped with my confidence. But there are still moments where before I answer “what I do” a fear of sorts comes through. will I be confronted? will I be laughed at? Do I want to debate astrology? Most of the time the reactions I receive are pleasant and carry many questions. Questions that test my knowledge of astrology. For those moments I am grateful. The times where I felt I was not clear in my answers or just plain didn’t know..brought me back to being Student…and from there my Confidence and Pride in “what I do” has grown.

Thanks for article and thank you to all of you running this site.
Nicholas Polimenakos

How Piscean! Or dreamy, Hollywood, and Madison Avenue!
As long as astrologers delight in artifice and superficiality..
without a good script and actors.. a wider respect will elude it.
Although it’ll do better when extricated from Old Age and
Neptune’s thrall to be launched cleanly into Aquarius.

This will happen when astrology becomes more understandable,
useful, and relevant to a broader range of individuals, not just to
some dreamers and intuitives.

“Relevant” in particular. When something is acutely relevant,
it catches on. It will engage. And then it doesn’t matter whether
it’s art,science, politics, or pure magic.

Relevance for astrologers involves being grounded. (Although
the same can be said for just about everyone these days, especially
‘homo urbano-technicus’ whose reality is largely virtual). There’s
nothing more relevant than a lightning struck oak, but for the house
or cathedral to survive (along with its inhabitants) it needs a rod that’s
rooted.

“Grounded” can mean knowing and experiencing more of the world,
the flesh, and their devilish details than can be found in heavenly
astrology. In the good old days, astrology was the worldcake’s icing..
with the Sun (or Moon) on top as a blushing horizonal (or eclipsing)
cherry — in other words, only for the Experienced and post-graduate
study. (What do astrologers know of Trivium & Quadrivium?) But
these days astrology is an open playground for Innocence and drop-
outs from Grammar or Mathematics.

Astrology as practised today is so ungrounded (and unengaged) that
it’s laughable and embarassing. Our ancient friends and forerunners,
the architects & users of Stonehenge, the Pyramids, Chichen Itza ,
(and probably Gobekli Tepi), are probably puzzled and sadly shaking
their cleft sticks and plumb-bobs. (Not to mention more recent
architects with almanacs, such as those who planned Washington DC
and the Manitoba Legislature).

We might know a few astrologers who can point out Leo in the night
sky or tell the difference between Saturn & Sirius, but I have yet to
find one who knows the azimuth of Sunrise on June 21st from their
home.. because this is not considered relevant. I guess several thousand
years of aligning entrances & naves with Golden Dawns was a waste of
time(s)..

Why is the first question people always ask at a party, “So what do you do?” How completely unoriginal, and how entirely unnerving to have to answer with something we know will challenge their reaction. Like the title “artist,” being an astrologer denotes some sort of self-proclaimed profession. What we need are LETTERS. A string of letters after our name would finally intimidate people enough to believe the field of astrology requires real study. But aren’t those letters just a cloak in their own way? Don’t we all secretly snicker at the counselor who needs to add the mail-odered “PhD” after his name to print on his first book – that no ones buys? Any stay-at-home mom (now how many people just stopped reading this?) has grappled with this profession/identity issue to the point where they might just avoid going to the party altogether. Imagine if our first question to each other was, “How old are you?” The truth is, people ask each other’s professions to estimate their own standing within a given group. I’m finally learning to enjoy looking someone directly in the eye as I say the magical word, and watch the other person either widen their eyes and nod in enthusiasm, or twitch in discomfort and find a polite way to excuse themselves and move away…far, far away.

Pretty amazing that even you, Steve, feel this way about “confessing” what you do for a living. Thank you so much for writing this article. It is so important that astrologers understand that we must be the ones who change our image by first, changing how we think and feel about ourselves.

Yes, I get that little glitch when asked what I do for a living. Just the other day I had to open a new bank account and chose to say “consultant”, rather than specify consultant of what exactly. And even have chosen on occasion to boldly say what I do in order to be rid of a stranger, and sadly, it has worked… Surprisingly, I get more of an excited, positive reaction if I say “Tarot Reader”, rather than astrologer. “Astrologer” often just gets a rather blank reaction and a change of subject.

I am very optimistic, though, that astrology will be understood differently soon, and by the majority. If people’s opinion of the art has been hurt by silly Sun sign one liners, it has also been helped by them, too, by keeping the practice alive in the public’s imagination, and creating a hunger for something more substantial.

Astrology and how the macrocosm mirrors our unique expression in the microcosm is such a fascinating mixture of science and intuition. It is so true though that it is only when we are confident and have more professional astrologers that are well versed in their branch that, like doctors, we will feel great about the specialized enriching service we offer. I love that this site is here, and that astrologers of your calibre contribute with such honesty. Thank you everyone concerned!

Thank you so much Steven for bringing up this sensitive topic. I am very grateful to have this new ANS web service available as a public platform for news and opinion on astrology, and for the opportunity to see my own work posted. Yet it may be only the beginning of a makeover that astrology has long needed and deserved. As fulfilling as astrology is in many respects, there are aspects of astrology that the public is not comfortable with and this in turn makes us feel uncomfortable with our association to astrology.

As I read through the first few articles on this website, two articles strike me as most significant. One is that old story that we are all so weary of, which is the claim, by skeptics, that the zodiac signs have changed and we are not in the signs we thought we were in. Indeed this is a straw man argument and signs should not be confused with the constellations that have the same names. But the public (and the skeptics of course) never seem to learn no matter how often and how well it is explained. The other significant development is the growing popularity of Western astrology in China. I have seen the unbridled excitement and enthusiasm over this myself, which at times threatens to run roughshod over the whole practice.

I’m completely with you pondering a makeover of astrology’s image. And we all know it just ain’t gonna happen by printing ourselves new business cards, LOL.

You know what, I admire the Chinese zodiac. It’s better than the one we’re stuck with. They’ve got some fine animals in theirs, except some of them suffer from the humiliation of human domestication (e.g. pig and chicken–the wondrous bamboo pheasant in its native habitat) or our conflicts with them (rat for example). And the dragon in the West is much different than the Chinese dragon, which is fun loving and social.

The signs are values and animals exemplify different values depending on how they have adapted. For example, elephants have strong family values, while wolves and dogs value their competition within the pack. Geese and swans value fidelity, and so on. These animal signs are strongly intuitive and user friendly.

What do we have in the West? Well, we have the twins, crab, scales, goatfish, waterbearer, and so on. Tradition and the vast literature regarding the signs is one thing, but if we weren’t so accustomed to them, we’d have to admit that the Western signs seem pretty weird, arcane, freakish, mysterious, strange, superstitious, and outright creepy. They make a lot of people feel uncomfortable and I don’t think uncomfortable is good for astrology. Maybe this is where the image of astrology needs a make over.

It represents a serious change, but It has happened throughout history. Cultures see something they like in each other and in this case it has the added bonus of terminating forever some of the stupid shenanigans and public confusion perpetrated by astrology’s detractors. Adopting the Chinese zodiac, perhaps with a few modest variations to give the animals their dignity, could do wonders.

First i would like to thank the web sight creators. This article is really exciting.What is the position of common Astrologer all over the world. I humbly request the author and others’ who are interested in this web sight to enlighten the common man to understand what Astrology is and also give some practical examples of Astrology can be used in solving life’ problems faced by the mankind.
I once again thank the author for his educative and interesting article.

Your article was very honest. Isn’t interesting that we as human beings are so held back or pushed unwillingly forward by the beliefs or opinions of are fellow humans. This is a perfect example of how an astrological birth chart is so unexplainably accurate and interesting. The FEAR of not fitting in. Our insecurities we try to conceal from others but they always find a way out. The damage an over powering EGO of one man/women can have on a mass of humanity. The time is coming for many TRUTHS to be revealed. The truth about Astrology is that it was a tool given by the powers that be to give humanity a insight as to what makes each and every one us different in some way and a guide to help us learn how to understand each other and work together to obtain a common purpose without detroying ourselves in the process. The truth will set us free but freedom has a cost. The cost may only be a bit of the truth. The truth like the universe itself always comes back around. Circles. Thank you to all involved in creating this site.

I think astrology’s image will improve when there is a practical and recognizable use for the information it can provide. Everyone talks about the weather but our group is doing something about it. Weather forecasting is as old as Goad and Kepler and is a proven system using astrology and astronomy. The list of long range weather forecasters available to work is on my weathersage.com website. We hope one day that everyone will know that Mother Nature’s code has been broken.
Thanks for all the good work that you do. You were one of my earliest teachers through your books.

I’m not a professional astrologer, though I’ve been a student of the discipline since the 1960s and have been reading charts most of my life. At crucial turning points I have always turned to a professional astrologer for help and have never been disappointed.

So I have a slightly different take on this. I believe very strongly that the people who will benefit from astrology will run into those who can help them with it when they really need it. They will be led to astrologers by the same force that brings us all our teachers and the life events that are described in the chart.

Many of us who delve deeply into astrology did so as a result of a single chance encounter. For me it was picking up a newsstand astrology magazine in sixth grade. Everyone around me had contempt for astrology, but it was so useful I didn’t care. Over the years I’ve found many other people who have similar stories. They aren’t loud about their interest in astrology, but when they’re with people where they feel safe and the energy is right, they’ll discuss it or ask for help.

I’ve had so many encounters of this type over the years and run into so many people who have made astrology an important part of their life, even though I live a quiet life in a small town, that I feel no need to defend astrology from skeptics any more than I would defend the validity of literacy or arithmetic.

Those who turn their backs on it are missing out on an extremely helpful tool. But astrology has taught me that each one of us is very different, so I can accept that there are plenty of people with personality structures that disincline them to look to astrology for help, just as there are people living meaningful lives who go through their whole lives without reading a book, and fully developed people who don’t take pleasure in music.

The longer I study astrology the more evidence I see of the holographic unfolding of something that my body-bound mind can’t comprehend except in the little bits and pieces that are stepped down to my consciousness. Astrology is a very crude reflection of this pattern, but far better than anything else we have–to me and people with personalities that share features with mine.

But that faith makes me trust that people are being given what they need and that I don’t have to worry about anything but my own path. When it’s time to read a chart for someone, I will. Much of the time it’s time to put the chart away and do the dangerous work of living it as best I can.

Thank you so much for your article, Steven, in which even you express, what many of us feel.
I´m not a professional astrologer, just a student, but I have recently joined the astrologer´s association in Germany, the DAV. We were invited there to read the chart of the association and hand in our version. It was very interesting to see, that the chart showed a Scorpio-Ac, with the Sun in Libra in the 11th and a full 12th house including the South Node, squared by a Saturn/Pluto/Mars conjunction in Leo in the 9th.

Does that not mean, that Astrology´s image, at least in Germany, is still that of the withdrawn “Faust”-person who struggles to solve the mystery of the beyond with his friends? And that it is not easy to claim the power involved with a position of a “teacher for life”? And what does a lonely North Node in Taurus in the 6th house mean? Astrologers should go out into the world and show through their everyday life what astrology is about?

Good one Steven. You’ve hit the nail on the head about how most astrologers feel when asked what they do for a living. I feel exactly the same and when I do answer “I’m an astrologer”, I await the odd facial expression and pause.

You exactly right about the main reason we feel this way too, the reduction to “cutesy Sun Sign formulas.” But now I’m going to play devil’s advocate. I’m the conservative grandfather who has been pointed to this website and just read your article. How is saying Newton was self-discipline and serious because he was a Capricorn any different than saying Bo Derek is sexy because she is a Scorpio?

Steven, what a heartening picture of a situation that so many of us experience. Especially from journalists, and I’m one of them. For the first 40 years, I did astrology in secret*, except for a few high-flyers who I got to know well enough to discuss their ‘real direction’ in life. For the last four-five years, I’ve ‘come out’ when people seem open enough, but there’s still a huge amount of prejudice. And what’s more, there’s still so much that I don’t understand. So thanks for your courage. And honesty. Oh yes, and I’m also a grandmother… and my grand-daughter shares my Moon at 21 Aquarius. So I reckon we’ll be getting to the subject of astrology fairly soon.

*In 1970, as an arrogant young journalist, I took up astrology in order to disprove it. But there were too many things that made sense… to my chagrin.

Great article, and unfortunately I can sooo relate to it. I’ve been a professional for nearly 10 years now, and I’ve asked myself the same question a million times over: What do I tell people I do? Counselor..Lifecoach? What if they ask where I got my counseling degree? Blah, blah..blah..It’s a hell of a prediciment when you are proud of your work. And a bad reason not to go to social events. Let’s hope it changes. Astrology does need a PR makeover. A paradox when so many make such an effort to seek us out. Leslie

I almost didn’t read your offering because of the title. I’m glad I read it. What a gutsy sharing. Thank you for your honesty.

Regarding the title, the fact is Astrology is in the process of evolving, and plenty of people are evolving it with a lot of help from the living cosmos. We should all relax, go with the flow, and enjoy the ride. When we wake up on the other side of it, hopefully there will be some celestial sphere integrity restored to Astrology and we will be proud to call ourselves Astrologers. Once I got a glimpse of Constellation Ophiuchus, I put my career-astrologer plans on ice. That was in 1987. When someone asks me about astrology I tell them “I don’t do astrology.” That’s how proud of it I am … and with good reason in my view.

I think if we back up to the center of the controversy, we will see that as long as we care what others think BEFORE we care what we think, we will always be playing the justification/validation game. When we have the courage of our convictions, others will have no choice but to treat us differently. Thank goodness Uranus is moving into Aries, and I see a new day dawning for astrologers.

I commend Steven for his honesty and I sympathize. I’ve just finished teaching an undergraduate class that I called ‘Myth and Astrology’ at a conservative liberal arts college. I teach in the department of religious studies. For the first part of the semester, I felt the need to frequently remind students that just because we were studying archetypal concepts within an astrological context didn’t mean we were admitting any belief in astrology itself. Then I noticed that the students didn’t seem to be having any difficulty accepting astrology at face value and were actually quite enjoying applying the concepts to their own natal charts. Many of these students are devout Christians, but the majority of them seemed quite open to the ideas found in astrology. I have hope that this generation is going to have a whole different take on the ‘science and religion’ debate, and are the start of a shift in how people perceive astrology.

I used to believe in astrology. I consulted a very highly experienced and recommended astrologer about ten years ago and have returned periodically for updates.

None of her predictions have come true.

Her character analysis was way off. My chart suggest a confident, bold person, but I am timid and shy. All these years I have kept hoping that I would grow into the kind of person my chart promised I could be.

I have finally begun to accept that I am never going to be the person that the astrologer assumed I could be. Nor will things turn out the way she suggested. Yes, I know that we have free will and all that so we can change the outcomes for ourselves. But that in itself totally undermines the entire message she sold me. If I do not have the confidence to enact the bold moves that are suggested by my chart, then clearly, either something is wrong with me or something is wrong with my chart! And yes, before you ask, I am 100% certain about the birth time and date etc.

If something is wrong with me, because I am not the person I “should” be, then… well, the only conclusion that remains is that the whole astrological reading was a complete waste of time.

I for one will certainly recommend that people steer well clear of astrology in future. It has done me no end of harm.

Astrology is in dire need of a ‘new direction’… But on the whole, astrologers are unwilling to do the work needed to make that happen. I constantly hear the layperson question the validity of astrology and when someone questions an astrologer about the inner workings they have very little to make any sense out of regarding the drivers behind it. When presenting scientific arguments and discussions the most common reply I get is, “Well, that’s fascinating and makes sense, but how does that benefit ME or my clients?” There is no real concern as to the need for answering the fundamental questions about astrology itself; that would take up too much ME time or those clients focused on the ME. I am not saying astrologers are a greedy bunch, far from that, but face it when dealing ourselves and our clients, you get paid because people are primarily unaware and self-absorbed, there is no getting around that; there’s your real reason for our rise in astrology and all other personality feedback measurement devices. There is a of publication out there, but he massive volumes of works are in large part vane regurgitations of someone else’s work, with only a small percentage of “new work” actually contributing to further astrology. In once sense, despite its growth, astrology is still stagnant and has only done it’s ‘book learning’ and hasn’t furthered its evolution. There are only a small number of ‘astrological-scientiests’ out there doing anything to put a foundation under astrology itself, and their voices are drowned out because most people are still caught up in only their own personal growth and not the field of astrology. The average astrologer is merely interested in making their living by catering to their clients and the lesser type of astrology; the obsessive types, are primarily caught up in over-developing one concept or idea to a point it becomes impractical. Astrology does’t just need another “Astrological Renaissance”, we need an “Astrological Revolution”. Science has already done the work. In the end, it all relates to our psyche. All of the pieces are there to lay the ground work to make that happen, its just in need of those ready to put in the time and show the world the Truth.

Astrology is in dire need of a ‘new direction’… But on the whole, astrologers are unwilling to do the work needed to make that happen. I constantly hear the layperson question the validity of astrology and when someone questions an astrologer about the inner workings they have very little to make any sense out of regarding the drivers behind it. When presenting scientific arguments and discussions the most common reply I get is, “Well, that’s fascinating and makes sense, but how does that benefit ME or my clients?” There is no real concern as to the need for answering the fundamental questions about astrology itself; that would take up too much ME time or those clients focused on the ME. I am not saying astrologers are a greedy bunch, far from that, but face it when dealing with ourselves and our clients, you get paid because people are primarily unaware and self-absorbed, there is no getting around that; there’s your real reason for our rise in astrology and all other personality feedback measurement devices. There is a lot of publication going on out there, but the massive volumes of works are in large part rather self-indulgent regurgitations of someone else’s work, with only a small percentage of “new work” actually contributing to further astrology. In one sense, despite its growth, astrology is still stagnant and has only done it’s ‘book learning’ and hasn’t furthered its evolution. There are only a small number of ‘astrological-scientiests’ out there doing anything to put a foundation under astrology itself, and their voices are drowned out because most people are still caught up in just their own personal growth or direction and not the field of astrology. The average astrologer is merely interested in making their living by catering to their clients and the lesser type of astrology, the obsessive ones, are primarily caught up in over-developing one concept or idea to a point it becomes impractical. Astrology does’t just need another “Astrological Renaissance”, we need an “Astrological Revolution”. Science has already done the work. In the end, it all relates to our psyche. All of the pieces are there to lay the ground work to make that happen, its just in need of those ready to put in the time and show the world the Truth.

Great article, Steven. One problem that plagues humanity is the dark materialistic age we currently live within that still grows, and an affect that definitely hinders progress in the astrological community, not to mention a rise in certain theological religions such a Fundamentalism, etc. Physical science has become the ideology called Scientism to a great extent (not true, objective science as claimed) and then, certain Fundamentalist mentalities certainly address any astrology as pure evil and all deceptive. The latter has become another ideology and rather materialistic itself, as opposed to being the spiritual as claimed. (This problem certainly manifests in the US and has been growing over a century now.)

To me, astrology is both a science (body of “knowledge”) and certainly, very much an art of interpretation, as many of us can agree with. Besides, this isn’t my own, original thought. Astrology deals with energies, and being substances (even those not capable of measure, if ever), create the potentials astrology deals with. Natal astrology certainly deals with the spiritual and psychological forces within us, in my opinion.

Astrology in general does require an “Astrological Renaissance”, in my opinion, first beginning with us, and then, “a revolution” as another commenter noted here under this article. Personally, since the mechanics of astrology don’t fit the scientific method and its requirements of evidence with proof (verification) that allows replication, I feel that astrology works from the within outward, the celestial bodies, ecliptic, and even the mathematically-calculated points, etc. being more influential as increments upon a ruler rather than from emanations from them in whatever form.

How does the Ascendant (Angle) operate then, being a mathematically-calculated point should astrology work from the outer, to within, in a very literal sense? “As above, so below.” Yes. But then, the perspectice ‘as within, so without,’ may very well apply to the Hermetic dictum. For humanity and the geocentric astrology we most commonly apply, in a sense, this tiny planet within the vast physical universe may very well be a center of a particular conscious and spiritual/psychological universe, if you will, that some ancients knew far better than the current status quo opearting upon, Earth today….

Perhaps we lost the real magik long ago as a whole, as some of us do individually now, drained without having an explanation in how astrology works, we ourselves seeking proof, frequently being scoffed at as superstitious, “uneducated” and scientifically ignorant. Hardly the truth!

This universe of ours, what is it really?
Here we are, centers of consciousness,...

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The Astrology News Service (ANS) seeks to educate the public about astrology and its value to individuals and society. The ANS is a joint project of the astrological associations ISAR, NCGR, AFA and AFAN.